Pokémon Chronicles - Special Chapters
by Eric566
Summary: This is a compilation of "special chapters", stories which explain events in the main story, "Pokemon Chronicles - A Hero's Rebirth". These chapters are small individual stories on their own, and they will each have their own synopsis and protagonists, who will be indicated at the start of the chapter, as well as when these events take place. Rated T for blood and swears.


**In this special chapter, we will clear the doubts concerning Elly's return to her home. What made her go there? How did she get there and who helped her? We also have a look at what happened after the Cursed Forest in Chapter 23, so of course, spoilers ahead for those who aren't that far into the story. If you haven't read that chapter, continue at your own risk. **

**Special Chapter 1**

**Homecoming**

It was all over now. The dream had come to an end. She had thought that he could her but... She had been an idiot. She thought that everything would be alright but... Just when he told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her... She was kidnapped. And to make matters worse, her mother reappears... Which was good until she murdered her own mother. Her face... That love filled face had stared at her for the very last time... The tears that came out from her eyes haunted her every time she closed her eyes... because the thought of dying, knowing that your own daughter killed you after you saved her... She howled in pain. The thought alone made her body hurt.

Her howl echoed through the cave as it left through the entrance. She looked outside. It was almost morning. She closed her eyes again. She couldn't believe it... She was gone forever... and it was all her fault again... It had all repeated again... The same story... Though with some slight differences... like Eric... His name... It made her heart pump faster. It had been almost a month... yet he hadn't appeared at all. She was waiting for him to appear. For him to show up in the entrance of that cave... notice her small shape in the middle of that dark cave and rush to hug her tightly... Whisper at her ear, saying" Everything is ok..." or kiss her... But each time she remembered the look on his face... a look of pure horror... He had tried to calm her down but... It was useless. She was a murderer...

Her mother had died again, and all of her efforts had been useless... What could've happened... a happy family with Eric, and her mother... or the great adventures she could've had with him... It was all over. Her life was over. She couldn't stand the pain in her heart again, her head slowly beginning to spin. It had been her fault again... Everything had repeated... And it was her fault... Like ten years ago... But even if that happened so long ago... The memory haunted her... And now, more than never, she went back. She tried to sleep, in which she instantly succeeded in doing so. After all, she had been running and walking for almost three days, non-stop... Once her eyes closed.. She went back. She went back before that fateful night... Before the encounter at the Foggy Forest... Before he even met Eric... She went back to the start of that week now twelve years ago...

* * *

**Twelve years ago...**

**First day**

Her eyes opened. She was startled for some reason. A chill ran up her spine, as a cold gust of wind run through the cave. She looked around. Her mother wasn't there. She was sure she had slept through the whole night... She looked around. They had discovered the cave not long after arriving there. They didn't have any money... and the cave was a nice change from the usual sleeping in the darkness of the night, behind some bush. Her mother had then found a job at the new pokemon kindergarten that had opened recently in the town. Her mother had instantly signed up for the job, and her psychic capabilities had helped in the sense of syncing with the small pokemon.

Eevee started to help her mother, and at her young age she worked really hard to actually contribute to sustaining their now small family. She sometimes wondered what had happened with her brothers, which had been left behind with their father. He mother had once actually tried to go back but... Halfway there she suddenly stopped, her face going grim. When Elly asked her why they had stopped, she didn't answer, just... turned around and left. It took her a few bad experiences for her to figure out that her mother had a psychic connection with her cubs. And when the connection was cut... it only meant one thing. The topic of their old family had been promptly prohibited by her mother, and she had eagerly agreed to it. Though, even if she tried her best, the memories of her father's abuse wouldn't left her mind... And eventually she would wake up in the middle of night, crying and sneaking in between her mother's front legs, curling up and sleeping with her. When they were compared in size, she was significally smaller than the espeon, though she always told her that she would grow in a strong female like her name was Skye. They usually laughed after that.

She got up from her bed and stretched, she still felt really tired, and her hairs made her look like a brown hedgehog. She walked up the stairs of their "house" and out into the world. The sun was shining high up in the sky, clear as her mother's eyes, as well as the eevee's of course. She had inherited those eyes from her, or at least that's what her mother told Elly. She sometimes wondered, though unintentionally, what she had inherited from her father. She looked around. In front of her, she could see Treasure Town, not too far from there, and in all other directions, a large cliff which fell into the deep blue sea. She put the bush on top of the hole that was the entrance to their home. Her mother said she had to buy a door and put it in the entrance, that way they could remove the bush so as to stop using it as a door...

She walked into town with a bit haste, heading for the kindergarten. She was hoping she saw her mother there, as she thought she had gone to work early. It was almost end of the month and she was probably going to receive her payment. With that money, maybe they could afford that door and also some food... They did have some savings for her mother's explorations to some caves, where she had found some interesting things... Though she wasn't really proud of it, since she called it "looting", but desperate times brought desperate measures... She was almost there. The town wasn't that busy that morning for some reason. She arrived at the door and knocked. She looked around for a bit, examining the building. It was pink, with an oval shape. If one was to actually size it, it could de summed up to "a very big egg". The pokemon who was running it, a Chansey was really kind to everyone, adults and children alike.

Elly saw the door open as said pokemon appeared. Chansey looked around and didn't see anyone. However, Elly called for her with her little voice. - Hello Miss Chansey! - Chansey looked down at the Eevee. She smiled. - Ah! Elly, good morning! - She said. Elly nodded. - Hello! Have you seen my mother today miss Chansey? - She asked. Chansey shook her head. - No. I was about to go looking for her, it worried me that she hasn't showed up yet. - Elly's heart seemed for stop beating. - She isn't here? - She asked, worried. Chansey shook her head. - No. She isn't with you either? - Elly shook her head. - Well... that's weird. Well anyways, I think you should be able to take the payment either way. - She went inside before taking a bag which was actually pretty heavy. - Here, give it to her when you see her alright? - The pokemon put it around her neck, making in dangle like it was a collar. Chansey came back into the building, since they cries of cubs could be heard inside. - Bye! - She waved. She then closed the door.

Elly was left there, tired, confused and scared. She then hurried out into town and looked everywhere for her mother. She went to every shop she usually went to. Eventually, her search made her stop in front of the Kecleon Market, a shop which sold really interesting items and where her mother usually sold the items she found in those caves while "looting". Elly came up to the shop, which had just opened. - Hello! - She said, calling their attention. Both of them turned their views to the small Eevee. - Oh! Hello little fella! What are you doing here? - The green one asked. - I am looking for my mom, an espeon. Do you know where she is? - She asked. The green one tried to think, but the purple one walked into the conversation. - An espeon? Yeah, she always come here to sell us stuff she's found while exploring. Last time I saw her was yesterday afternoon... and she was with someone... -

Elly tilted her head in confusion. - Someone? Who was it mister? - She asked. The purple kecleon remembered it clearly, as he instantly answered. - It was an umbreon I think. He seemed to be someone close to her, since he called her sweetie, and asked for their daughter. Are you her child? - He asked. If Elly's face wasn't covered by fur, they would've have seen her face instantly going white, not even going through a clear brown. Just straight into white. - No. My mom is... is... My mom is in my house, she's a Glaceon. - Elly lied. She didn't feel comfortable, so she began to back away. - Anyways, I have to go, I have other errands to do. Bye! - She shouted while running away. - Hey wait! - The purple brother shouted as she ran away. He looked at his green sibling. - You ever heard of a Glaceon living near here? - He asked. The other brother shrugged, both of them looking the way the eevee had ran off to.

She didn't know where she was headed. She just wanted to get out of there. All of a sudden, she bumped into someone. She looked up, as she had run into it's legs. It was tall. Really, really tall. Almost ten times as tall as she was. And it had a cloak over it, covering the top of his head and making it's unrecognizable, as the cloak extended, becoming a cape that enveloped it's body. However, what she did see was it's red eyes staring right into her. She stuttered, walking backwards slowly, before turning in a dime and running away scared out of her mind. She didn't scream, she just ran for her life.

She got to the bluff, removed the bush, ran into the cave and then put the bush again. She then jumped on her bed, put on a blanket and stayed there, shivering under the blanket, really scared. The eyes on that creature... whatever it was, had scared her to no end, and she couldn't remove them from her memory. They reminded her of her father's eyes. It just scared her so much. Way too much. She had always been easily scared, and she considered herself a coward. She popped her head from under the blankets and looked at the hole in the wall, where light came in from. She hid her head under the blanket again and drifted off into a deep sleep, wishing that when she woke up, her mother would be there, singing lullabies to her.

It was then, when she actually remembered a lullaby her mother sung her quite a lot. She tried really hard to remember. In the end, she could only remember the first two verses:

"Come my child, and I will sing you a tale... A tale of wonders and a tale of fate... Come my child, sleep in my grasp... As I tell what kind of life awaits for you..."

The song echoed in her mind, making her remember those times that she was so scared of nightmares that she actually asked her mother to wake up, to talk to her, make her feel better... The intense bond between them was so strong, that when one of them felt fear, sadness or pain, the other one knew. When she woke up and told her mother, she found she was already up, looking at her, tears in her eyes. "Another nightmare?" She would always ask. Elly would nod and crawl up to her, as her mother embraced her, kissing her forehead and her tails rubbing her cheeks. And after she was calm, she would sing her that lullaby.

However, she could only remember those two phrases... Why? Why did she forget that lullaby so easily? She did remember that the lullaby was unsettling, but it usually helped her sleep. Also, it didn't sound like a normal song... but just as the first lines said, it was a tale, a story her mother wanted to pass down to her... She kept on repeating the lines, trying to remember. Time passed as a blur, as the sun set and it was night already. And her mother hadn't arrived... She was scared. Was she going to sleep alone that night? Where was her mother?! She would never leave her... would she? She remembered what the Kecleon said. "Last time I saw her was yesterday, and she was with someone... I think it was an Umbreon..." Could it be... her father?

The memories flooded back, as tears began to appear in her eyes. Where was her mother? Where was she?! Could she have gone back with her father and left her alone? Could it all have been a strategy to trick her? She almost hit herself. No! It couldn't! Her mother and her shared a really strong bond, she would never leave her! And after all he had done to their family... she would never forget him. She swore it many times over in the last month, every single time the topic was brought up. But she knew that she was scared and confused, just as she was. Why did he do it? They didn't know. Her mother described him as a kind pokemon that promised her a life filled with happiness... She didn't remember him like that... And she cried the first days they left... and Elly cried too...

Suddenly, she heard the bush move. She perked her head out from under the blanket and looked. Yes, the bush had in fact moved, and someone was coming downstairs! It had to be her mother! She ran out of her bed and dashed to the stairs, ready to pounce on her mother once she appeared... But instead she saw the same figure that she had bumped into in town, cloaked and everything, it's red eyes showing from under the cloth. She stopped on her tracks and looked at it. She then screamed as she rushed to the other side and hid under her blanket again, shivering ever so more intensely as the figure approached her step by step. Then, it crouched and took the blanket off, revealing her petite little form, shivering under it's size.

She looked at it and it looked at her. She looked away again, waiting for the creature to grab her and swallow her whole. However, that never came. Instead, it put a hand inside of the pocket on one of the sides of it's cloth, and took out a bag that made a clinging sound. Elly looked at it, and recognized it. It was her money bag! She must have dropped it on her run to her house on when she bumped into the creature. - Do not worry. I am not here to hurt you. I have come to give what you've lost. - Elly looked at it. It's voice was deep and serene, and it was probably male. He put the bag next to her nad turned around, ready to leave. However, something rose inside of Elly: Curiosity.

- Wait! - She shouted. The creature turned around and looked at her. - Who... are you... Sir? - She asked. The creature stared at her for a while. It closed it's red eyes and breathed in deeply. After a few moments, he grabbed the hood of his cloth and pulled it down. She recognized the pokemon, since her mother had described it to her a long time ago. It was a Lucario. But something was weird. His fur was a golden yellow instead of the blue her mother had told her about. - I am Virkov, and I am The Wandering Lucario. - He said. Elly looked at him. Her mother had told her that Lucarios were one of the strangest pokemon one could see, as they were rare by themselves, let alone a shiny colored one. She had told her that they were most noble amongst pokemon, and also really powerful. - And you, little one? - He asked.

Elly looked at him. - My... my name... is Elly... mister... lucario... - She stuttered. The jackal smiled. - No need for the formalities young one. I am a wandering traveller looking for a shelter. However, I do not have any money at all, and can't stay in a hotel or anything of the sort. Could I please speak with your elders, so I can negotiate the terms of my staying for the night here? - He asked. He was really formal with her, which kind of intimated her. - Well... my mother isn't here right now... and my father... is really far away from here I think... However, I don't think that my mom would mind you staying here mister... She talks up to you and your kind. - She said. The lucario smiled.

- Very well then... If I am not too much of a bother, I may sleep here, on the other side of this cave. Goodnight young Eevee. - He said, as he walked past her and laid on the ground next to the hole. He merely laid on the stone ground and fell asleep there. Elly stared at him for a while, amazed as the ease he had to actually fall asleep. She looked at him for a really long time, until sleep got the best of her and fell asleep.

* * *

**Second Day**

When she woke up, the lucario was still there, sleeping. She looked outside and noticed it was morning, and the sun was coming up. The light seemed to wake up Virkov, who turned his head to look upwards and opened his eyes. She turned her head and tried to pretend she was asleep.

She heard him shift behind her, moving around. He was a traveler... so maybe he knew... - You can not fool me child. You are awake, and you do want to ask if I can find your mother. - He said. She looked at him, her eyes widened in shock. She was really surprised. - Come on, do not be afraid young one. - He said. She gulped down. - Sir... My mother's been gone for a day now... And I am really worried... Do you know an espeon mister? - The lucario shook his head. - No. I am sorry Elly. Is there any clues you have about her whereabouts? - Elly thought about it. - Well... she was here yesterday... and they say an Umbreon was with her... - Virkov looked at her. - An umbreon? - He asked. Elly nodded. A silence rose between them, before the lucario asked something really weird. - Your mother's name wouldn't be Skye by any chance? - He asked.

She looked at him, really scared. - N... no... m... mister... - He looked at her intensely. - Do not lie to me. I know you are lying. I can help you find her. - For some reason, right then and there... he trusted him. - Yes mister... My mother's name is Skye... We used to live in a forest far away from here, on the other side of the region, past the mountains... We came here because... - Virkov interrupted her. - Because your father wanted you dead, so she took you and you ran. Elly, I know your mother. Me and I were friends, and somehow, she knew this would happen. She warned me before she ran off one day, to not be seen. I discovered something had happened to the forest you say you used to live in... And it all began the day you left. Thinking that you might know the cause, I came here in search of that espeon, who happens to be your mother. It seems however, that I am too late... - He said.

The whole situation blew her mind, now incredibly confused as to why and how this pokemon knew her mother, and everything that he told her was true... - What do you mean by late? - She asked. - Well... I think your father appeared at took her away. - Elly gasped, as she was struck by the realization. It made sense. - And I think he came here to finish what he started... and might kill her. - Something lit up inside of Elly. She had been protected by her mother her whole life, and now that the only one she had in her life was in danger... She had to find her and save her. - We need to save her! - She shouted. He looked at her. - How? From what we know, she might already be dead, and if she isn't, he's probably using her as a bait to get you into his trap. I don't personally know him, but I've met the likes of him one too many times. Trust me, your mother is doomed. - He said.

However, she didn't believe him. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew Skye was still aline, and probably calling for help. She had to save her. She looked at Virkov. - I must find her. - The lucario looked at her, the sun outlining his shape. - You are mature enough to understand what I am telling you young eevee, your mother is... - Elly stopped him. - **SHE ISN'T DEAD! **- She shouted, tears appearing in her eyes. - Me and my mother share a psychic connection, which means that we can know if the other is in danger or not. If one of us died, the other would now. And I know she isn't dead! I can still feel her! Please! - She inched closer to him, crying. - Help me find her! Please! - She begged, all the while staring at his red eyes.

She could've sworn she saw something flicker across his eyes. He closed them and sighed deeply. - I see what you mean. I can see an aura link between you and another creature... it is far away from here... Really far. We won't be able to get there in one day. - He explained. She looked at him. - So... that means you're going to help me?! - She asked, frantic. The lucario nodded. Her eyes lit up as she rushed at him and hugged his feet, crying and repeating the words thank you over and over again.

* * *

**Day Three**

After that, the rest of the day could be resumed to planing the whole trip and buying provisions for the journey. After that, they went to sleep early, to wake up with first rays of the sun and depart immediately. Hopefully, they would be halfway there around night time. The next morning Virkov woke up to find an eagerly waiting Elly. The lucario didn't say anything, as he got up, grabbed his bag and walked out, followed closely by Elly. They put the bush on the hole and then made their way through Treasure Town. Before going completely out of the field of view, they gave Treasure Town one last look, the shapes of the buildings outlined by the morning sun. There was no one in the streets that soon, so they didn't run into anyone on their way out.

As soon as Treasure Town disappeared from their view, the landscape around them attracted her attention. It was gorgeous to say the least. The grass swayed peacefully with the wind, as the trees they found in their way weren't that tall. Elly, who was eager to get there as fast as possible, was running around constantly, while Virkov kept a constant pace, not too slow, not too fast. Of course, she never went too far away from him, but she sometimes ran to some distant tree to look around, or sometimes just walk around it, admiring the shape of the log, the branches and the green leaves... She sometimes also looked at the sky, the color of which reminded her of their objective, though she sometimes saw some strangely shaped clouds in the sky. Like for example, one of them looked like a smile and two on top of it made for a happy face.

She couldn't help but point it out to Virkov, who looked upwards and then turned his view to the landscape in front of them. She was buffeted by the fact that he was semi ignoring her, though she could understand that maybe she was taking their mission a bit too lightly, after all, they were on a quest to save her mother. As they kept on walking, Elly started to slow down her frantic pace of running and jumping in the tall grass or flowers. As the minutes turned into hours, and the sun changed places, now slowly approaching the center of it's trajectory, she started feeling the first effects of exhaustion slowly kicking in.

Thankfully, they stopped to eat an apple each before continuing on their way. Though it was more than enough food for both of them, she called the lucario. - Aren't we going to rest for a bit? I'm tired... - She said. Virkov turned his head to look at her. - See? That's because you started off to strong by running around. You should've kept a steady pace and that way you wouldn't have gotten so tired. - Elly looked down in shame. - I'm sorry... If we slowed down a bit, maybe I could keep up... - She said, but Virkov shook his head. - I am going slow, and at this pace, It'll take us around four days to get there, if we were to go slower, then we wouldn't get there in at least a week. - Elly's mouth hung open. - A week?! But... then what do we do? I need to go with you but I can't keep going anymore... - She said, whining a bit. Virkov thought about a way that they could move, and found that the best option was to let him do all the moving. He crouched down and put his arm on the ground, extending it like it were a bridge.

- Climb on and get in my hood. I'll carry you, that way, we'll get there faster. - He said. The small Eevee nodded, as she walked up his arm and got in his hood. After that, he stood up, and Elly looked at the ground to see that she really far away from it. This freaked her out, and they weren't even moving yet. - Hold on tight, that way you won't bounce around. - He said. She did as he told her and grabbed cloth she could with her tiny paws and clang to it with her small claws. Virkov started walking at the same pace they had started. The "slow" pace, or so he called it. - You ready now? We're going to start moving now. - Elly was confused, but nodded.

(**Planet Wisp – Sonic Generations**)

And then he began to run. Well, not run, as he said, but actually move fast. And holy hell he moved fast. The landscape around them was a blur. She knew that if they ad begun like that she would've never kept up with the insane rhythm the Lucario was running at. His feet stomped on the grass rapidly, every second gaining more and more speed. She could feel the wind buffeting her cheeks, and crouched behind his head, so the hind didn't hit her as hard, clinging for dear life to the hood she was in. She moved around so much, that she thought that if she wasn't grabbing that cloth she would have flown off, and the bouncing up and down was giving her nausea. However, after a while she got used to it, and even dared to look out of the hood.

She saw his legs, much longer than what she actually thought at first, covered by golden fur moving at a steady rhythm. Once one of his legs lifted off, the other landed, and he actually extended them quite a bit, letting him cover a significant distance with each step, and when combined with the speed, they actually covered a lot of ground in a lot of seconds. She then decided to lean to the right, and look in front of him, right next to his neck. The prolongations from his head moved around like crazy, but she could actually see quite nicely, as she was just below them. She saw a forest coming up, and they got in a few seconds after seeing it. Under that small forest, the lighting was little bit more moody, but it gave the area an amazing mystical feel to it. She could've sworn she saw some Catterpie crawling along some of branches of the trees, and a flock of Pidgey's flew off from their side, almost getting in their way as they got out of the forest.

A huge chain of mountains rose in front of them, though they were still very far away. - If we can reach those mountains by night time, then we'll be there the following day to tomorrow, or even tomorrow afternoon! - He explained. - Good! - Elly shouted from behind him. - If you want, I can go faster and reach those mountains. - He proposed. Elly felt confident and told him to do so. It was a big mistake, though she noticed it way too late. He sped up, throwing his arms backwards, arching his back forwards, becoming more aerodynamic. His cape was now fully opened behind of him, trailing like an extension of his body. The wind got even stronger, and Elly got as close as she could to his body inside of the cloth. And that was when he actually started running. She almost flew off as Virkov accelerated dramatically. Now they were running incredibly fast, and she closed her eyes and decided to wait for when Virkov got to the mountains.

That's why she didn't know why Virkov started jumping all of a sudden, as rocks became more common in their way, sometimes even taller than the jackal. However he just jumped over them, his cape and the hood following him downwards. If someone were to have seen them right then, they would've been amazed by the majesty of the lucario, and the grace with which he moved. However, as soon as he touched the ground she lost grip of the cloth. However, she didn't bounce out of the hood thankfully though for the next thirty seconds she was bouncing around like crazy, spinning around. - Mister Virkov... can we please slowdown... I don't feel very well! - She shouted, hoping the lucario heard her.

(Stop the music)

He did in fact hear her and slowed down progressively until he completely stopped. He pulled the eevee out of his hood and put her on the ground. She walked around all dizzy for a few seconds, spinning around before dropping on the ground, really tired. - I don't feel really good mister... - She said. He crouched down. It was then that she actually noticed he was panting heavily. - Me neither little one... Seems like age is finally catching up to this old fool... - He told himself. They both looked at the mountains, which were still really far from there. Elly sighed. - How about we rest somewhere mister? I think we made good progress, so we should rest for today... - She said. Virkov shook his head. - Where do we rest? There's nowhere to rest in miles around us. And unless you're suggesting we should freeze in the night in the middle of nowhere, I think we should keep moving until we find somewhere else to rest. - He said.

And so they kept walking for a few hours, making almost no progress whatsoever, as the rocks made the task significantly harder. Soon, the sun was setting, and they still were nowhere close to those mountains or anywhere else to sleep for that matter. Elly almost couldn't move, though Virkov wasn't nearly as tired as her, he was obviously exhausted, probably because of the running he had done about six hours ago. It looked like they were in fact going to have to rest in the middle of the night after all. With some leaves they got from bushes near where they were and some sticks they managed to make a fire. Virkov pulled out a few berries and stuck them on some sticks, roasting them over the fire. They were really tasty for Elly, and she enjoyed taking small bites on the fruits, munching them and getting the fur around her mouth covered in juices and bits of food.

They didn't talk between them. Virkov was thinking about how they were going to keep on going and wondering about his own things, while Elly was having a great time eating the berries. After getting herself stuffed of food, Elly dropped on her back, feeling as full as she could be. She had eaten most of the food Virkov had pulled out from the bag, while he hadn't almost eaten anything compared to the quantity she had eaten. After a while, sleep kicked in, as she started feeling drowzy. - I think I'm going to go to sleep mister Virkov... - She said. He nodded. - Very well, I'll stay awake and guard us from anything that may approach us. Good night little Eevee. - He said. Elly closed her eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

**Fourth Day**

However, her sleep didn't last for too long, as she had a nightmare and woke up in the middle of the night, The moon was still in the sky, though it was descending. The fire was out, and she was in almost complete darkness. She felt something on top of her, and noticed it was Virkov's cloak, which had sheltered her from cold, allowing her to sleep peacefully. As always, the nightmare had been about her father following both of them out of the forest. It was a really bad nightmare, and she was always really scared whenever she woke up.

However, this time her mother wasn't with her, and there was no one to sing her a lullaby and going to make her sleep better. She sat up. It was so dark she couldn't see anything that wasn't close to her. Then she noticed that Virkov was nowhere to be seen. She freaked out, as she looked around frantically, trying to find the lucario. She was releived to find him behind her, sitting with his legs crossed and looking in the direction the moon was setting. He seemed to notice Elly waking up, because he turned around and looked at her. - Are you done sleeping little one? - He asked. She shook her head. - No... I had a nightmare and woke up... It was a nightmare about my father again... - They sat there in silence for a few seconds. - You and your mother seem to share a fear with your father. I know your mother, and I think it's hard to get someone like her so scared, so what did she do to calm you down? As well as herself of course. - Elly looked at him.

- My mother was never afraid... it was me. I usually wake up in the middle of the night, really scared. When this happens, my mother always sings me a lullaby... However I only remember the first two verses... Do you want to hear them mister? Maybe then you can sleep too! - She said, a smile on her face. He smirked. - It's not that easy small one. My spirit cannot rest, not after what've done. It doesn't matter the amount of lullabies you sing me, I will never have a peaceful sleep. - Her ears dropped. - That sounds sad... Do you want to hear them either way? You never know! - She said. Virkov sighed. - Try it if you want little one, it will not work. - She nodded. She breathed in and began singing in her most soothing voice.

- "Come my child, and I will sing you a tale... A tale of wonders and a tale of fate... Come my child, and sleep in my grasp..." - She began singing, before he continued the song. - "As I tell what kind of life awaits you... May your past be dark, your future will be bright, although you will never turn your back to it... The greatest allies you will find, and love will soon be at your side... But never forget my words... The shadows may be shy, and their reasons may be doubted... but they will be loyal until their last dying breath... The fire will burn bright, with passion and with anger... But soon... only embers will be left... Water was always kind, until it lost it's life... and now it lies in the deepest crevice of the sea... The rocks may be hard, but cracks you will find... and the wind will soar the skies until it loses it's sight... Ice will be cold, but soon it will melt, to reveal a kind heart beneath the frost... Thunder will strike, with all it's life, but once it loses it it'll never be the same... The greatest war of all, you will fight in, for the sake of those you love and those who died... But remember... that our world is dying... and the only thing that will save us... is a hero's rebirth..." -

He finished the lullaby just at the time Elly fell asleep, as she had curled up and closed her eyes. He looked at the little pokemon. If this was the song that her mother sung to the eevee... Then she thought it was her? That little eevee, only six years old was their only hope? It couldn't possibly be! Then again... she was strong, and kindhearted as far as he knew. He sighed again. - No, it can't be. She's not ready for anything of what's to come. - He sat down, looking the way the moon was setting and closed his eyes again. He relaxed, isolating anything that didn't have to do anything with his body. After a few minutes, the only thing he could was his own breathing. He was ready now. He folded out his arms, opening his paws and breathing in as much air as he could. He could feel the energy coming into his body slowly. He focused as much as he could in the forest far away, over the mountains... And then he used the energy in him.

The result was his consciousness leaving his body once again. He was blind, and couldn't see anything other than complete darkness. He could fly and float around at will, though he could not do anything either. He was projecting his aura unto an invisble being that he was controlling from his body. With this, he flew ahead of them and scanned the way they would go the next day. He flew over the grasslands that sepparated them from the mountains. He found a caravan party that was headed to those very mountains. He then flew over to said peaks and had a look inside, where dozens of pokemon were mining stones and rocks. That wasn't what interested him though. What he wanted to see was the forest at the other side.

The further away he went, the harder it was to control. He managed to get out of the mountains and into the forest that was their destination. There he searched for an aura trace to follow. One that matched the espeon's one that was. He found it. It was a trail of pink mist in the middle of a forest filled with pitch black trees, of the which he could only see the green outlines. He kept on going, until he found something. It was another kind of force. It looked like his, but it was really different. In fact, completely opposite. The force materialized itself into a shape, and he was able to see clearly the forest. He was floating in front of a hollow tree. The door was busted, and from the inside an umbreon slowly walked out.

He looked at the umbreon curiously, wondering if this was Elly's father and Skye's mate. He didn't look like much of a threat. He moved in slowly and tried to get into the house. However, just as he was going to get in, a purple ball of energy flew right past him. At first he thought the umbreon had shot at something he had seen, until he actually started talking. - You know... that is a really old trick. You can't fool me with that one. - He said, as he shot another ball. It was impossible for the pokemon to hit him. He was invissible. Even if he could detect his energy he couldn't calculate exactly where he was.

All of a sudden, a ball impacted his manifestation, making him fall to the ground. The umbreon chuckled. - Jackpot... - He said, as he slowly approached the lucario's energy projection. Virkov looked at him, wincing from the pain. Even if he wasn't attacking his body, he was attacking his mind, and if his mind throught he was being attacked, he was in fact, being attacked. - Well well... An aura knight? Isn't that lovely? I thought the likes of you had died a long time ago... But I see you're still breathing and kicking... - The umbreon said, mocking him. - You know... I did in fact have a trace... A trace that leads me far away... to the north I think... It can't be you, so... Is it someone you care about? Maybe... - He inched closer, looking straight at him with his red eyes. - A son perhaps?! - Virkov's emotions got out of control at the last moment and he lost control on the projection, pulling his consciousness back to is body very fast, seeing everything swift past him. The forest, the tunnels and the mines all flashed in front of him.

For a second though, he could've sworn he saw something brown shining down in the caves. A core of pure energy? He didn't have time to look at it for too much, he just noticed it out of the corner of his eye. He was pulled out of the mountains and then across the grasslands and back into his body in the blink of an eye. He shot his eyes open as the pain from the umbreon's attacks filled him. He bent forward, coughing. He looked at the grass just to see himself coughing blood. He stood up, wiping his mouth with his paw. He swallowed whatever blood was left in his mouth, mixed with saliva.

He looked at the eevee, sleeping just a few feet away from him. He turned his view forward again. The moon was about to set, and the sun was slowly rising. Elly woke up minutes later. She woke up just like she had slept through the whole night. - Good morning mister lucario... - She waved as she slowly rose from the grass she had been sleeping on. He nodded. - Good morning Elly. - He said, as he approached the place she had been sleeping before she woke up in the middle of the night and picked up his cloak and his bag. After that, they set out for the mountains, which rose a few kilometers away from them. However, to speed up the process, Elly got on his hood and he ran to the mountains once again.

However, as the hours passed the sky started getting cloudy, as coal black clouds covered the sky. A few minutes after that, it started raining, and it got increasingly worse as they approached the mountain, as the winds got stronger and faster, the rain felt like they could drown just by standing in the middle of it, completely soaked. Virkov found himself going at a slower pace just to be sure they didn't slip. After a few minutes of walking in this harsh weather, they finally got to the base of the mountains, which were in fact more intimidating than before. The peaks were so high they seemed to scrape the sky, and they could see snow on top of them.

(**Death Mountain – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds**)

The conditions couldn't have been worst, but even in the middle of what seemed to be the great storm, Virkov began climbing the mountain, walking carefully across paths that rose at the sides of the mountain, sometimes going into caves were water drips reminded them of the harsh weather outisde. The winds got worse and worse and they climbed on, and after what seemed what hours, but had in fact been only half an hour, Virkov dared to look down. To his dismay, they weren't even that far off the ground, and looking up they weren't even near the top of the mountain, this one being in outer part of the chain, where mountains were much shorter than in the interior. He knew that the hardest part of that journey had only begun.

To make manners worse, as they got significantly higher, the conditions didn't soothe, quite the opposite in fact, as small streams of water coursing down the sides and small rocks falling were much more common the higher they went. And then came the lightning strikes. The flashes of light were in fact of much needed help, as the clouds didn't let much light from the sun, if it was still day that was. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally got to the peak of that mountain, just to find another one, which doubled in size, rising in front of them. To make manners worse, a huge valley which seemed to be flooding momentarily separated them. They needed to descend the already climbed mountain to ascend. Surely, they could wait for the storm to clear, but who knew how long that was going to take, and considering what Virkov had seen the previous night, they didn't have much time left.

He hurried down the side, trying as hard as he could to not slip off and fall to his doom, bringing the little eevee with him as well. In fact, she was the only thing he cared about at that moment: her safety. He knew she shouldn't be there with him, that they should've waited for everything to clear up. But he knew that something was about to go wrong, and she knew it as well. None of them wanted to stop and wait, they had to get there as soon as possible. Before it was too late. The descend was almost impossible without making a slight mistake, which he made thankfully right at the end. He slipped off a rock and almost fell, as the floor was really slippy. Noticing that the ground was fairly unstable, he slowed down his pace, going at a speed that resembled the one they had started their journey the previous day.

Once down, their obstacles weren't over yet. Though the storm had to be clearing out any time soon, the water had flooded almost the entire area, and the river that seemed to flow there was now overflowing the place, knocking down some trees, which made for nice paths across some areas where the current was either was too strong for him to handle or the water was too deep. This rarely happened in the short minutes they were down there, but it was still enough to keep the lucario at his toes. Once again, the eevee's safety was all that mattered at that moment. The water was reallly dirty, as leaves, branches and even logs floated down to the lowest part of the valley, which was starting to look like a lake. He didn't want to stay there to find out what would happen if that lake was overflown, so he tried to move faster.

They found themselves almost at the other side, a nice slope which was now made out of mud seemed to be their last challenge of getting out of the flooding valley. To explain the situation they were in, you could say they were in a bucket, and water was constantly being poured in it from the sides, and they were desperately trying to climb one of the bucket's sides. If you imagined that with almost three kilometers high mountains, then you would have a good idea of the situation they were in. Virkov buried his claws and paws in the mud and tried to climb up, clinging to whatever part that wouldn't tear off from his weight. Sometimes however, the mud just fell, making him slide until he could get a grip again and getting his golden fur dirty, changing it into a brown mud color.

(**Stop the music**)

Once up there, he saw the entrance of a tunnel. Without thinking it twice, he hurried into it, going as deep into the cavern as he could, getting away from the harshness of the climate outside and rushing to the safety of the tunnels below. Hopefully, these tunnels took to the mines he had seen in his little "exploration". He was panting heavily from the whole ordeal, obviously tired from the marathon he had just gone through. He wasn't really in shape anymore either, and that added to his advanced age didn't par up very well with stamina and strength. Also health at that matter, because he found himself sneezing, just like Elly, who hopped out of his hood. They were both soaked, dripping water without even moving. Their furs had adsorbed as much as they could, and the water was just sliding down her fur like it was a smooth surface.

Not even after shaking themselves repeatedly could they get the water out of their furs. There seemed to be buckets of the stuff absorbed in their hairs. After a while, Virkov gave up, thinking that maybe moving deeper into the tunnels and finding help was a far more better plan than staying there and shaking themselves dry. Elly also gave up shortly after seeing him go into the cave. However, this time he called out for her, making the little eevee follow him. The caves seemed to be deserted at first, though they soon found mining carts flipped around and tracks that lead upwards and downwards. Thinking that it would make sense if the mining facility was upwards, they both began following the tracks that headed up the complex tunnel system.

As minutes passed however, no source of life could be seen. However, they did begin to see some lit candles and lanterns on their way, so they had to be close. The caves were dug out inside of the mountain, and the rocks around them were gray colored, the light of the lanterns transforming it into a weird darker orange color. They kept on going, finding mining carts stranded in the middle of the tracks, or some even toppled and flipped around on the sides. It looked like something had happened in there, which didn't make much sense, because he had seen the auras of the miners the last night. They just had to be in an upper level.

After what seemed being an eternity of going through endless tunnnels they finally found the mining facility, or so they thought, as a mine cart filled with two geodudes and a graveler slowly descended the tracks. Since they were walking on the sides, they called their attention. The pokemon saw them and stopped the cart. The graveler got off. - What the... What are you two doing here? And who are you? - He asked them. Virkov stepped forward. - I am Virkov the Lucario, and she is Elly the Eevee. We are mere travellers who were looking for shelter. You see, the weather out there isn't exactly... peaceful. - He said. His statement could be comprehended, but something in his words woke up the Graveller's attention. - Wait, so you came from the outside? - He asked. Virkov nodded. - Yeah, why? - His eyes widened, as he grabbed the lucario by his arms and lifted him off the ground. - Take us there! Now! Before the entrance closes! - He shouted as he put him down. Virkov looked at them, extremely confused.

However, after seeing the looks in their eyes, he knew that something was wrong. - Alright, it's this way! - He shouted, as he began running back the way they came. Elly was extremely confused and called out for him. - Wait! Mister Virkov! - She shouted. One of the Geodude's grabbed her and put in her in the minecart, as they removed the breaks and the cart started moving again, sliding on the tracks. It took them a few minutes to get there, and to Elly's and Virkov's surprise, they saw something which extremely confused them. The hole they had just gotten in from was slowly closing, like rocks were growing from the walls and were obstructing the exit. The graveler shouted and rushed for the hole. - NO! - He said as he slammed against the wall when the hole was completely sealed. - FUCK! - He shouted.

Elly had heard her mother say that word sometimes, and she had told the little eevee to not say it. It wasn't polite and even rude at times. She had decided to listen to her mother's words and never swear. The graveler fell on his knees, defeated as the Geodude's looked at the ground, depressed. Both of the outsiders were extremely confused at what was happening. But one thing they knew for sure was that they weren't going to get out of that mountain that easily.

* * *

- So the entrances to the mines have been progressively sealed one after the other? - The lucario asked. The graveler nodded. - It started not even twelve hours ago, right after the earthquake. The entrances started sealing up and the workers began running around and looking for an exit. Some got out, while others, like us, were left in here. There's about twenty of us, and we are all holed up in the central hub. Minecarts do make for nice beds after all really, so it isn't that bad. - He said. Virkov nodded, as in he heard understood the explanation. - Does anyone know why this is happening? - He asked. The graveler shrugged. - No idea. Some say wrath of the mountain for stealing it's rocks and minerals, others the end of the world, none of us are sure. From the storm you were describing though, I think I'm leaning closer to the end of the world theory. - Virkov looked at him, raising an eyebrow. - And why's that so? - He asked.

The graveler, who was easily pushing the cart where Elly and geodudes were in, moved his lower hands around. - I mean, come on. A great storm that will flood the world and destroy everything, a mountain that suddenly comes to life and traps everyone inside... None of these things are normal. I m also known for being the most pessimist pokemon around here so... Don't listen to me when I say that we are all going to die. - Elly's ears perked up at those words. - What? Why are we all going to die? - She asked. Virkov shook his head. - Don't listen to him, no one's going to die. - He said, trying to calm her down. The eevee turned to the Geodudes and continued their conversation. The graveler sighed. - Poor guys. They are not the only kids around here. Seeing them trying to play around in tiny tunnels is really heartbreaking. Why are you two together anyways? She doesn't look like your daughter or any familiar. - He said.

- She's the daughter of a friend of mine, who's been kidnapped. That's really all you need to know. - He said, frankly but coldly as well. The graveler was thrown back because of his way to talk. - Alright... And what's your story? It's rare to see a shiny lucario. - He said. Virkov didn't speak. The graveler sighed. - Alright, mister I'm too shady to speak. I'm just trying to be nice. - He said. The lucario frowned because of the graveler's reaction. - I have done things in my life... - He began. The graveler looked at him, curious. - Things I am not proud of... And I didn't know what was more important... and now I suffer the consequences of my choices. - He said in a semi depressing tone. The graveler looked at him for a second, but turned his gaze to the cart again. A second later however, he looked at the Lucario.

- Oh yeah, I forgot. The name's Jeff. Nice to meet you both. - He said. Virkov nodded. They pushed the the cart a few more meters before they finally got yo their "base". Or at least that's what they called the big cavern with a couple of empty minecarts, filled with sheets. They obviously didn't have much else, even after a few hours they've been inside of there. Virkov guessed the mines didn't have many supplies, and they would eventually ran out of food unless they found another source. After all, even Ground and Rock types ate normal food and drank water. They pushed the cart to the bumper where the track ended and everyone in the mining vehicle got off.

Elly walked up to Virkov's feet and walked next to him, while the lucario eyed everyone around them. A Steelix came up to them. - Jeff, about time you got back. - He looked at the newcomers. - And who are you? - He asked, respectfully of course. After all, he was a shiny lucario. - I am Virkov, a wandering traveler. Me and Elly here were making our way to the forest just at the other side of these mountains and a raging storm caught us off guard. We got into a cave which connected to this mining facility and it seems that we have gotten ourselves stuck in here too. - The Steelix looked at him. - Well, sounds like you guys were unlucky. Sorry that we can't give you a warm welcome, since we don't... really have much heating. - He said.

Virkov frowned. - It won't be a problem. However, I can't say we won't stay here for long. - He said. The steelix understood. - Yes. We'll find something for you. And for her as well if she wants to sleep with you. Is she your daughter? - He asked. Virkov shook his head as he lead them to a group of minecarts piled up. - No, she isn't. She's the daughter of a friend of mine. - He walked up to one of the minecarts and picked it up, carrying it on his back. The steelix stared at him. - Wow, you're quite strong. - He said. Virkov huffed, carrying the giant minecart with great difficulty. - It is still... quite heavy... - He carried it to a considerably close distance to the other minecarts and put it down. - Well... Thank you for your assistance... - The steelix smiled. - Park. Call me Park, also no problem. I hope we can all get alive out of this one. - He said, before slithering away.

Virkov took off his cloak and put it on the bottom of the cart. He looked at Elly. - Come on, hop in and try to get some sleep. - He said. Elly jumped inside and looked at him. - What about you mister Virkov? - She asked. He shook his head. - I am not planning on sleeping tonight. In fact, I want to find a way out of here. Time is ticking little one, and we must find a way to your mother soon. Rest well, since you're going to need all the energy you can get. - The eevee looked at him sadly. - But you also need sleep mister Virkov! You must be tired as well! - She said. The lucario shook his head. - I can go on for a few hours without sleep. - He said. She frowned as her ears dropped to the sides of her head. - Alright... Goodnight then... - She said, as she curled up into a ball and went to sleep.

Virkov then decided to walk around and try to get familiar with the place. There were three exists: The one they had come from, which lead to lower levels, one that lead to the higher ones and another which lead to an elevator. It was used to take up minerals from the lower levels up to the surface. It wasn't of any use right now, as the hole that lead up was blocked by the stones. The same as the main entrance of the mine. He came back to the minecart where Elly was. She was sleeping peacefully. He didn't think that she actually understood the situation they were in. They were stuck inside a mountain that seemed to be growing rocks for some odd reason, and to top it all off, the time they had to get to her mother was ever so smaller with every second that passed. He didn't want to tell her however. He didn't know what condition she was in, and didn't want to get the eevee nervous about anything.

However... he was curious himself. He actually wanted to know if their quest had sense anymore. Because of this he waited and watched, sitting near the cart as everyone in the mine want to sleep, going into their minecarts. After an hour or so, everyone was asleep. It was then when he decided to try the aura projection again. After relaxing for a few minutes, he got into a state where he would be able to get his soul out of his body once again. As he felt the energy flow in however, he felt the actual overload of energy around him. He had to be careful. If he were to absorb too much energy he could basically blow up.

When he finally got out of his physical body, the first thing he noticed was the aura around him. The amount of pokemon in the same room would kind of explain if there was a lot of aura. But the levels he felt in that cave were abnormal. It felt like there was a lot more living creatures that they could actually see. And then he noticed that all the energy came from the mountain itself. That the mountain was in fact alive. He freaked out to say the least. He didn't freak out normally but... The fact they were inside a living mountain was unsettling, but the fact that a huge rock was coursing with living energy was scary. He decided to ignore all of that energy and try to find a way out.

However, he noticed the way energy was flowing, from the bottom of the mountain all the way to the top, giving energy to the whole place. It was a pattern. He found a way down and followed it, flying over tracks, big pits were the tracks were held in midair by huge metal pillars and even some areas where the tracks went straight down and twisting like a spire. He didn't know what kind of purpose those tracks had, though he guessed that they had special adherence to tracks and those were just used to get the minecarts down to deeper levels much faster.

He followed these tracks, which took him to almost the base of the mountain, which was in far pretty deep down. The mining system got ever more complex at that level. Only someone with enough knowledge of the facility would actually find their way around without a map. After a few minutes of flying around, he found it. The source of the energy. He couldn't even see it's shape because of all the energy. He could feel it surround him, giving him a lot more energy that he could ever have in his physical body. It was insane. And that thing was giving that immense energy to a huge rock. It could only lead to one result: disaster.

Suddenly, he saw rocks moving by themselves, as they made a shape. A pokemon's shape that was. It resembled a Garchomp. The creature rose and roared. He felt his apparition weaken, as his vision faded to black. He opened his eyes. He was back at the start, sitting next to the mining cart in the which Elly was sleeping. Only she was awake. Her ears were perked up and her eyes were wide open. - Virkov. - She called him, as he got up. - Did you hear that? - She asked. He nodded. - And I have a slight idea of what it is. Gather everyone in the cave Elly, quick! Time is crucial for our survival. - He sounded dead serious. She began running around, shouting her lungs out and telling everyone to go to Virkov, that he had something to tell. Everyone was confused, but eventually they went to see the lucario, even Jeff and even Park appeared.

The steelix slithered up to him. - What's the meaning of this? The eevee says that you know something about that roar. - The lucario nodded. - You know that my kind has a blessing that allows it to control aura with much more ease than any other pokemon right? - He asked. The steelix nodded. - Well, if one was to train enough, they would be able to enter a state where they can project their energy into another entity, invisible to the normal eye. - Jeff entered the conversation. - Like a ghost? - He asked. The lucario nodded. - Not exactly, but close. In this form, I can scout ahead and see if there are enemies ahead, as well as knowing what dangers lie ahead. - He explained. The steelix shifted around, a little bit annoyed, since he thought they were just wasting time. - And what does that have to do with the roar? -

He asked.

Virkov breathed in. - In this form, I can see the energy, or aura that flows through every living being. Well, turns out that raw energy is coursing through this mountain. Which can easily be understood as that this mountain is alive. - Everyone looked at him. - A living mountain, now that's just... - Park started, though Virkov cut him off. - It isn't a normal breathing, walking being like us. It's more like a vegetable, though it isn't exactly alive. It doesn't need to either eat, breathe, drink or anything. It has a source that provides it what seems to be an endless supply of energy. This would explain the rocks growing on the sides. It's the energy, which is acting like a hastened regenerating ability. - He said.

Jeff had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about. - So wait, you're saying that we're inside a living thing right now? - The lucario nodded. - That's insane. But how is this happening? - He asked. - I already told you, it has some kind of core. That thing isn't normal first of all. Mountains aren't supposed to become alive, and whatever is lying down there, it's giving it more and more energy with each second that passes. - He explained. Park now felt uneasy, because he had an idea of where he was going. - And what happens when the mountain is filled with energy? - He asked. The lucario stared at him with his red eyes. - What happens after you sleep and recover all your energy? You wake up. -

Everything went dead silent for a second, as everyone's faces turned into pure horror. - Mother of Arceus... - Jeff muttered. A few prayers started filling the air, their voices slowly getting louder. - We're all going to die! - Someone shouted. - It's the end! - Another voice rose to the air. Everyone started panicking, but Virkov was still sitting there, his legs crossed, his gaze fixed at the panicking mob. Elly behind him was shaking like a leaf. She was young, but she could understand everything he was saying. Park got fed up.

**- STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! -**

He shouted, as everyone froze on their spot. He was clearly an authority around there, and Virkov had already predicted this, and knew that the steelix would calm down the crowd. His voice was amazingly loud. So loud in fact, that the ceiling seemed to tremble, as tiny rocks began to fall. He looked up, amazed. - That wasn't your voice. That's the mountain slowly coming to life. - The lucario said, looking as calm as before. Park looked at him. - Well, this all seems way too amazing for me, but if what you're saying is the truth, then there must be a way to stop this. - He said. The lucairo nodded. - As I've repeated, the energy comes from a source. If we find this source and destroy it, we'll be able to stop the process and the mountain from becoming alive and wrecking mayhem all over the region. - He said, cool as a cucumber.

- And you said this source is at the bottom of the mountain? - Park asked in name of everyone. He nodded. - Yes, if we get down there and destroy it... - He began, but the steelix shook his head. - These tunnels are really intricate and huge. It is almost like a maze. You will get lost and by the time you get there it might be too late. - He said. - I know this. It is quite a problem. You wouldn't have a map of the facility by any chance? - He asked. Jeff walked up. - Why have a map when you have me? I was born in these mines, and I am responsible for the design of the tunnels and the way they were dug. - No one seemed to contradict the graveler. Park looked at him. - Are you sure? I know about your memory capabilities, but are you extremely sure or are you bluffing? Because I also know you are quick to start bluffing. -

The graveler frowned. - You kidding me?! I've been in here longer than you pal! Just because you're my superior doesn't mean that I'm worst than you! - The steelix sighed. - Not again... - He said. They were about to break into an argument, and Virkov wasn't going to have it. - This is not the time to argue! - He shouted. His voice firm and loud, staring intensely at the pair. They both looked at him. - We need to handle this situation as fast as possible, and we need as much help as we can get. - He said. He looked Jeff. - You lead us back from where we came from to this room. The way from there to here was intricate, and I don't think I would have ever found found my way here. I think that's enough proof for me. -

The lucario rose from the ground. - We must move hastily. The sooner we get there and destroy the source, the sooner we'll get out of this mountain. - He explained. He picked up his bag to check the food they had left. He saw two berries, an apple and three gummies. He decided to leave the bag inside the minecart with Elly. - Here, you stay with the bag Elly, we won't need supplies. We won't take long. - He said. Elly looked at him. - Wait, I'm not going with you? - She asked. He shook his head. - This is way too dangerous for you Elly. You must stay here. - He said. Elly looked at him, her eyes widening, trying to give him her most depressing look. - Please? - He shook his head. She bounced up and down. - Pretty please? - He shook his head again. - No Elly. I've told you already. This is way too dangerous for you. Stay here, I will come back here soon. Do not worry. - He said.

Elly looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. - Alright... But please be careful mister Virkov. - He smiled. - Do not worry little one, I will be back. - He said, tapping her head. He walked up to Jeff, who was waiting for him next to the tunnel that lead downwards. - Why don't we take that elevator? - Virkov asked Jeff. The graveler shook his head. - That elevator leads down to a level where the tracks lead to the other parts of the mines and an exit that leads to the east ocean. The tracks are solid, though some of them are broken and lead down to pits which thankfully aren't too far down, maybe about seven meters. After that, some tunnels that branch out and you're at the other side! - The lucario looked at him, surprised. - Well, that's helpful to know. Me and my friend have to get to the other side of these mountains, so we'll use those tracks to get out I guess. - He said.

They had already begun walking down the tunnels. Graveler was carrying a torch with his upper right hand, while he had a hammer in the other one. - Also why do you have a weapon? - He asked. It was rare that pokemon took weapons. - Well, whatever it is down here, it didn't sound really friendly. Also, I think this will be useful to destroy the source. I am good at handling hammers. - He said. The lucario smirked and nodded. - Alright then. - He said. Jeff noticed that the pokemon had actually curved his lips for the first time he had seen him. He made a mental note that he had managed to make him smirk. For some reason, he considered that a personal achievement.

Soon after walking for a few minutes, they came up to a much bigger opening, leading to a mess of tunnels going in all directions. The cavity was huge, comparing it to the one they called base. It was pitch dark, as the light of the toroch didn't eve get to reach that far. It was also dead silent. Not a single sound could be heard, which made the ambient eve more unsettling. Unsettling for both of them. Whatever was inside that had defiantely not made it's move, as they didn't hear anything. Problem was though, that because the creature and the mountain shared the same energy, Virkov wouldn't be able to identify it from the rocks. It was annoying, and to him it felt like he was somewhat blind. He had that weird sensation when you feel one of your senses is clouded, and can't use it at all. It was annoying to say the least.

- This way. - Jeff said, as he lead him deeper into the mine by taking some steps, which were carefully carved into the stone, not too wide actually. - Watch out. We usually take the elevators and the gondolas, so I don't know in what state these steps are. - Jeff said, as they continued down the stairs, deeper into the mines. However, as Virkov stepped on one, the rocks started breaking and falling appart. The lucario was quick enough to move to the wall to avoid slipping and falling to his certain death, but as Jeff shone his torch behind him, they both saw how the part of the steps that had fallen regenerated extremely quickly. They both stared at the newly formed stone step.

- What does that mean? - The graveler asked. Virkov walked down to him hastily, grabbing the torch out of his hand and looked at him. - That means we are running out of time. We must move! - He shouted, as they began rushing down the stairs as fast as they could without risking their lives. The steps trembled and even crumbled under them as they continued their way down hastily. They got to another set of steps that continued downwards, though they headed the opposite way. These steps were in much more worse shape than the previous ones. These began crumbling as soon as they stepped in them, so they had to move fast, or else they would fall down. A few minutes after that they got to the bottom.

It was actually filled with very sharp rocks and some small pits, as well as small rocks that stuck out and made some obstacles for them. Jeff jumped down the few steps he had left and kept on running, rushing to the other side of the cave. Just then, some rocks began falling from the ceiling, some of them small pebbles, but some of there were actual rocks, and even huge ones that could easily squash them if they fell right where they were. After a few minutes of dodging the rocks as they fell from the ceiling, jumping and dashing to the side to avoid the falling death traps, they finally got to what looked like a really long rope which went upwards. Next t it, a bag of what looked like rocks was hanging at the side. The rope seemed to be holding the bag over the ground, and it was tensed up thanks to a mechanism at the base of the strange machine, which kind of looked like a lever.

- We use these to descend the minerals down here easily without having to rely on the elevators. However... - He got on the base of the structure and kicked the lever thing, letting the rope go. - I found out they cane be used like this! - He said, as he grabbed the rope before it ascended too far of his reach. The result was him being dragged up at really high speeds, zipping through the air as he got to the top of the rocky hill in a few seconds. Jeff let go as the rope went through a small wooden structure with a hole through the which the rope went back down to the ground. Down at the bottom, where Virkov had seen all of this he saw how the bag of rocks fell to the ground with a loud noise that echoed all thorough the great cavity.

Jeff looked down to the lucario, as Virkov looked back at the Graveler, who was smiling at him from the top of the cliff. - Come on, try it! - He shouted, pointing at another weird structure, similar to the first one. - Grab the rope, kick the lock and up you go! - He explained the lucario. Virkov looked at the weird machinery, and decided to try it. After all, it had to be the quickest way up. He grabbed the rope and kicked what Jeff had called the lock. The rope shot up, going even quicker than his eye could follow. And then he went up with it, speeding up across the cliffside. He went up like a blur, the air around him hitting his face, making his grip around the rope as tight as he could.

He saw the the graveler flash before him, and reacted as fast as he could to let go of the rope, landing right on the edge. He almost fell backwards and down to his certain doom. However, Jeff grabbed his right paw, pulling him next to him and out of danger. - There. So, how was that? - He asked mockingly. Virkov hissed. - I enjoyed it a bit yeah. Not going to repeat that one in a long time however... - He said. Jeff smirked, as he soon after walked away and into a tunnel which lead downwards, deeper into the mines.

They both kept going down the tunnels, following Jeff, who seemed to know the tunnels as the back of his upper right palm. They had to move quickly, since they had little time to get to the source before the whole mountain came to life and destroyed the region as they knew it. They came up to another room, and this one had an elevator that went down. However, because of the lack of hand-power they couldn't use it normally. Instead, Jeff decided to opt for the most "fun" way to go down. And that was to jump on the rope and slide down really fast. Virkov jumped into another one afterwards, sliding down carefully, burning his paws in the way down.

Jeff was the first one to touch the ground, Virkov right after him. He waved his paws as they were actually pretty hot because of the friction. He looked at Jeff, whose hands were red from the heat. The graveler looked at him, smirking. - Hehehe. I guess you aren't going to repeat that one either are you? - He asked. Virkov was about to say something before they both heard a loud roar from the depths of the cave. The lucario looked into the darkness, before Jeff grabbed the torch and snapped it in half, making the fire die. Both of them stayed as quite as they could, keeping their breaths as soft and weak sounding as possible. Loud steps were heard all of a sudden, first softly, but the steps got louder and louder with each step.

Everything was pitch dark, so they couldn't see even two steps in front of them. Virkov used his ability to detect aura by closing his eyes and focusing. The shapes around him began forming, as he saw a dark brown shape moving ever so slowly. He recognized it. It was a Garchomp. And a big one at that. He was almost four times the size of a normal one, which translated meant humongous. It was sniffing the air, trying to find the pokemon that were in darkness. While Jeff could only hear it's breathing and it's loud steps, Virkov could see the creature in it's entirety. And he wished he didn't in fact. It was terrifying to look at. Well, not exactly terrifying really, but actually a bit more close to surprising. The creature sniffed the air around it, inching towards them, growling. The creature got close to Virkov, sniffing the air as it leaned down towards the lucario.

Virkov didn't move at all. If he made one move, the creature would probably hear him and eat him. He had to do something... but what?! Jeff knew the answer apparently, because he slowly inched to the side, grabbed a rock with with lower left arm and immediately threw it in a random direction away from them. The sound of the rock hitting the ground multiple times resembled the one when they moved around, running, as the Garchomp heard it, as it perked his head up, hissed and screamed before running off in that direction. Taking profit of the loud sound of it's steps, Virkov and Jeff got up from the ground, running the opposite way so to avoid detection.

- Shit shit shit! - Jeff whispered. - What the fuck was that?! - He shouted as softly as he could. - That's what appeared in the bottom of the mine, next to the source. It's climbed up. - Virkov explained. - It seems to be a Garchomp made out of pure stone... - He said. Jeff stared at him. - A fucking Garchomp?! You got to be kidding me! There's only one Garchomp in the whole god damn region, and he's got some god damn problems! I don't even want to know what this guy is going to do... - Jeff began talking, and didn't seem to want to stop. Virkov put his paw on Jeff's mouth, instantly making him quite. - Neither do I you fool. But if you don't want to find out, I'd advise you to shut up! - He almost shouted. A growl was heard from the other side of the cave.

Virkov closed his eyes and focused, letting the aura flow into him. His paws starting glowing blue, emitting some light, making them able to see. - Let's go! - Virkov shouted. He didn't really care about the Garchomp any more, they had to move quickly. Jeff got up and began running, Virkov right after him shining light in front of them. They heard a loud howl behind him, and loud steps echoing all around the tunnel. Jeff tried to remember what way they had to head, but he managed to orient himself quickly, as they headed to a tunnel that lead deeper into the darkness.

Virkov, who was still using his aura vision, noticed that they were really close to the source. The steps seemed to stop descending. They slowed their pace as they noticed this. However, soon after they saw a light coming from the end of the tunnel. That was a visual representation of aura, which was really dangerous if it was the case. He stopped Jeff from walking in. - Jeff. In there we will find the source, but it's letting out way too much energy. That light in there is a visual presentation of the aura that's coming out of that thing. It's going to slowly start flowing into our bodies as we get close to it, so be careful and if you feel way too energetic, run out of the room instantly. Or else you might explode like a bomb. - The lucario explained.

Jeff stared at him. - Wow. So much for energy eh? Sounds pretty god damn dangerous if you ask me. - He said. - It IS dangerous. Aura is the energy that flows through every living being, the fact that this thing is emitting so much of it is worrying at the very least. We need to destroy hastily of course, but some precautions must be taken. Are we ready? - He asked. The graveler nodded. He took all of his words seriously, as he knew the lucario was to be taken seriously, or else something could happen. They walked into the room. It was a circular room, with a pit in the middle. - This is the room were the excavate straight down, in search for huge veins of minerals. It's a good way of knowing what lies deep down in the mines... - He said. They both looked around the room, and they both saw the source of light, which was hovering lamely over the pit. It was a golden piece of metal, which emitted a strange brown light, which let them see the room.

- There, that's the source. - Virkov said, pointing at it with his paw. - If we find a way to knock it down from there and throw it into the pit, then I think that would take it far away from the mountain, stopping the process. - He said. Jeff grabbed his hammer and spun it around his own hand. - Ok then... Now we just have to hit it down from there and we'll be on the clear! - Jeff said. Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, as loud sounds came form the pit. Someone shot out from the pit and landed to it's side. They both saw the stone garchomp, screaming at them. It obviously did not want them to touch the source. Jeff tensed up, as well as Virkov, who closed his eyes and let some energy flow into him, instantly opening them, as he was filled to the brim with energy, and had to let go some of it. - Jeff. We need to get rid of this guy, or else we won't be able to destroy the source. - Virkov said. - You don't god damn say captain obvious! - He looked at the garchomp, who was inching closer to them. - This guy is going down! - He shouted.

(**Egg Golem – Sonic Adventure 2**)

Virkov put his paws together, conjuring an aura sphere of a medium size, throwing it at the creature. The garchomp dodged it, the ball blowing up on the wall, throwing rocks at the side of the creature. This seemed to enrage it as it started charging at them. Jeff started moving along the borders of the pit, while Virkov jumped across the pit and behind the creature. The garchomp seemed to be following him t, because as soon as he jumped, it turned around to face the lucario, who threw another sphere at him. This one hit it straight in it's chest, knocking it back and making it stumble. A huge gaping hole was opened in it's chest. The creature seemed to howl in pain, as it turned it's back to him and dug it's claws inside of the rock walls. It tore out a huge rock and slammed it against it's chest. The rock seemed to fic into it's chest as it repaired that hole, and also seemed to give it a sort of armor.

This seemed to protect it's chest, but didn't protect it's head. As the creature leaned forward to howl at Virkov, Jeff appeared from behind it with his hammer, jumping on it's back and slamming the hammer on it's head, making the creature scream. He grabbed the neck as the garchomp rose again, slamming the hammer into the side of it's face multiple times over before the garchomp slammed it's back into the wall, trying to get the graveler off him. Jeff jumped off before he was squashed under the huge rock creature, landing on his feet and sliding, stopping next to Virkov. The lucario threw another aura sphere at it's left feet, making it fall to the side. Jeff rushed up again and slammed his hammer into it's head again.

Virkov rushed up behind him and attacked the head as well, slamming his right palm right in the middle of it's black eyes. The head blew up, which should have killed him, but the garchomp seemed to still be alive even after it had lost it's head. The creature got up, moving his arms around frantically, hitting both of them into a wall. It didn't knock any of them out, and they were still ready to fight. The creature buried it's claws into the wall again, and started digging, as it buried itself into the wall. They lost sight of it for a few seconds, before it busted out, throwing rocks all around the place. The rocks that it dug out recomposed it's body, as it was back to the way it was before, though more rocks protected it's whole body.

- Shit, this thing is only going to recompose itself each time we hit it. We need to find a way to stop it from doing that! - Jeff shouted, as Virkov shot another aura sphere at it's body. The garchomp flinched, but it didn't hurt him. Virkov hissed. He put his paws close again and conjured another sphere, this one bigger than the last one, as big as he could make it. It was in fact so big that he could conjure it between his paws, and rose hem over his head, making the ball form above his head. He then threw it at the garchomp, and though the projectile moved relatively slower than the normal spheres, it got to it in a few seconds. The huge size of the projectile really showed it's destructive proportions, as the explosion almost threw them back. The garchomp was still in one piece, as the projectile had unfortunately hit the wall. But this seemed to be of use, because the garchomp fell in the hole, thought it didn't fall to it's doom, as it clung to the walls, making a ramp. Jeff took the opportunity and ran up the garchomp and jumped into the metal piece, ready to slam it with his hammer...

(Stop the music)

But it never hit the source. Jeff almost hit the metal piece, but all of a sudden strange ropes of energy surged from the thing, as they grabbed it's arms and legs. Virkov looked at him. - Jeff! Get out of there! Now! - He shouted. However, the graveler wasn't listening. He was in some sort of trance. - JEFF! - He shouted again. The graveler wasn't listening to him. He wasn't there anymore. The proximity to the piece had gotten him into some kind of induced sleep. But his eyes were open, he was fully sentient, but he had no control over his body. His eyes and moth were wide open, and virkov saw how the tendrils of energy reached out slowly, heading for him, enveloping him in some kind of light veil.

- JEFF! - Virkov shouted again, to no avail though, as the cave started to shake uncontrollably, rocks falling down and almost squashing him. The energy seemed to curl around before compressing into a ball. And after that, the source exploded. A loud howl was heard, and everything seemed to fall apart before the whole cave collapsed on them. And Virkov lost his senses.

* * *

Elly woke up. She didn't know how long she had been sleeping, but she woke up all of a sudden, really scared. She looked around. She was still in the minecart where Virkov had left her. She saw that everyone was moving around, uneasy. She jumped out of the mining cart and looked around. Even if she was surrounded by friendly pokemon, she was still really scared. She didn't know anyone in that mine, and Virkov hadn't come back. She looked around, and noticed Park, the steelix that seemed to be a friend of Jeff, the graveler Virkov gone off with. However, neither of them had returned, so she wanted to ask Park.

She walked up to him, the steelix about thirty times her size. He was amazingly tall and he didn't notice her at first. - Ummm.. um.. umm..mm.. Mi...Mi..mis... miste... mister... Park.. k I … I wan...ted t... to ask...k – She began speaking, stuttering a lot. - Move those carts over there! We may need to fix this by the time they get here. We need to get those gondolas working! - He stared at some pokemon that were walking around doing nothing. - Hey! You! Stop slacking around and give us a hand! We need to get that elevator moving already! Come on! - He shouted, his voice booming around the cave. She edged closer to him. - Mis...ter P...Park! - She called him. He shifted around, and almost crushed her. She yelped in surprise, and her small shout seemed to call his attention, because he lowered his gaze and looked at the small eevee. He seemed to suddenly remember. - Oh shit! It's you! - He shouted, as he lowered his head.

- I completely forgot about you... What was your name again? Elly? - He asked. She nodded. - Yes... I... I... I want...ed to... ask you sir... about Virkov... - She began. His face went grim. - We've sent a few miners in their search, but they haven't appeared yet. However, they seem to have destroyed the source. We've managed to open a way out Elly! - He shouted. - We can get out of this place! - He said. Elly's eyes sparkled. She could finally get out and to her home! She could after her mother! However... Where the hell was Virkov?! Should she wait for him or go ahead and search for her mother? It was a tough decision. However, some kind of anguish starting building up inside of her, as she remembered Virkov's words. "We are running out of time".

- Mister Park! - She shouted, calling his attention. - Could you take me to the other side of the mountains? I must find my mother! - She shouted, really set on that goal. She knew what she wanted to do. She had to get to the forest. And she had to get there soon. Park looked at her. - What about your friend? - He asked. - He would want me to keep going. Our goal has always been to get me to that forest and rescue my mother. If I don't go now, then everything may have been in vain! - She shouted. Park looked at him. - Alright then... Come with me. - He said. He snaked up to the elevator and got on it, Elly right after him. Two geodudes came up and grabbed what looked like a wheel, which seemed to control the elevator going up and down. They began spinning it clockwise.

The elevator slowly began descending to a deeper level. The elevator took a few seconds, but finally got to an open cavern. She saw mining carts going really fast on some tracks that were supported in the air by metal beams. The elevator touched the ground and both of the pokemon got off. He lead her to a minecart. - This cart will take you to other side of the mines Elly. After that, you're on your own. You sure you'll be able to make it on your own after this? - He asked her. She nodded.

I'll be good after I get out don't worry. I live hear after all. - She said. She jumped into a minecart were a Geodude was waiting, ready to take her to the other side. - Take her to the east entrance of the mine. After that bring the mining cart back. - He told the rock pokemon. Park looked at Elly. - Hey. If you ever need a lot of help... Your friend Parl will be here. I won't forget you again though, I've got a good memory. - He said. She smiled, as she nodded. - Thank you. - She said. The mining cart started moving on the tracks. - Goodbye mister Park! - She shouted. The steelix stared at the cart before it disappeared out of his field of view.

She waited in the minecart for what seemed like hours. She finally felt as the minecart stopped. She got off as the Geodude looked at her. - Head for the light. - He said, as he pointed at the entrance in front of them. - After that, it should take you to the forest. Good luck. - He said. She looked back at him as the mining cart slowly moved away. She waved as the cart slowly rolled away. After it got out of her view, she turned around and started running. She was so close. She wasn't going to let the opportunity waste away!

* * *

**Seventh Day**

As she finally made it out of the cave, she breathed in deeply, letting oxygen filled her lungs. It felt like eternity, and to be fair, she didn't know how long she had been in there. She looked up. It was almost mid day, probably past. She was a bit hungry, so it probably was the time to eat. She opened the bag which Virkov had given her and ate the rest of the food. After that, she began running down the small hill she was on top of and ran straight into the forest. However, two steps into the mass of trees, and she felt a chill go up her spine. She didn't know why. But she felt like something was watching her, intensely... However, whatever was gazing at her only made her feel... safer. The darkness of the forest didn't scare her much as she headed deeper and deeper, crossing some patches of huge flowers, crossing knocked trees over a river and following what marks she could find that would lead her home.

After half an hour of walking without stop, she finally found her home. Or at least what was left of it. The door was completely busted, and for some reason it looked like the wood had rotten. It was a hollow tree after all, so it was to expect, since it was already a dead tree. However, it had never happened, and last time she had seen her home, it was in perfect shape, so how come it had rotten in only three months? But that was not the only thing. For some reason, she felt really afraid all of a sudden. She didn't want to walk in. It scared her too much. But, grabbing what courage she still had in her, she walked towards the tree, whose upper windows looked at her ominously, like eyes of a beast that stared down it's prey. She walked through the frame of the door, which was laying on the ground in front of the entrance. There was a strange smell in the air, like... musk. She saw a puddle of something in front of her. She couldn't see the color of the liquid because of the light but... The liquid gave her a bad feeling.

She saw more of it dripping down from the ceiling. She looked up to see it that it was coming from the upper floor, which was the bedroom. She slowly began walking towards the steps that took to the second floor. Every step made the wooden planks under her creaking, the small drops of whatever liquid was dripping from the top floor making small splash sounds. She was nervous. Really nervous. So nervous in fact she didn't understand it. She stepped on the first board. She felt something inside of her shrink, as she whined in the middle of the darkness, which only seemed to get stronger with each step up she took. Another step, and another loud creak, a splash noise coming from the puddle. She gulped saliva and took another step, climbing up a little more.

The stairs only had sixteen steps, but when she got up to the top floor half an hour had already passed. Well, she never really got to step on the second floor. The only got to the fifteenth step as their bedroom was in sight. The dim light in the room didn't let her see it at first. But her face turned from anguish to pure horror and into a scream of pain, sorrow and fear as she saw her mother's corpse lying on the bed, a wound on her neck as blood slowly poured out. Tears started coming from her eyes, as she stared at the espeon's once sky blue eyes. But now they were blank. Without a soul. And they stared. Right. At. Her.

* * *

She woke up abruptly. She was sweating like a pig, and she felt tired. Really tired. But that wasn't the worst part. Her mind was broken. All she had gone through in the past... and even recently.. All the pain she had seen... It had been her fault. If only he had stayed with her mother that day, then maybe her father would've taken her instead and killed her... Or maybe they would've been able to defend themselves... Or they could've died together, and met in the afterlife... Either way... if any of those things had happened... none of the events that had transpired would've ever came to reality. None of those who had lost their lives would've died. None of those who had suffered would've ever had to go through that pain... And yes, maybe she wouldn't have met Eric, or Mick and Milly... Or even the guildmembers... And now... Even her mother was gone as well...

She was alone. A murderer. A burden to everyone. She got up from the ground, as she limply began walking, one paw after the other. All that happened was her fault. She had been selfish. How could she ever thing she would've have a normal life after what had happened? How would she expect to find love, friends, after he had stolen everything from her?! How had she expected to even live after all of that?! She couldn't. She shouldn't have lived, and that burden had been drowning her from the side foralmsot her whole life. The sun shone straight into her eyes, as she approached the edge of a cliff, walkig like she in trance. She was done. She finally understood. It was all her fault. All her fault! She had been an idiot! A complete fool... And she couldn't fix her mistakes anymore.

She stopped right at the edge. She didn't expect retribution, or encouraging words from anyone, not even the riolu she loved. Because they were all gone. She was alone now. She had always had. She had always been...

And she would always be.

She took a step into the abyss, as the weight of her body made her lean forward. Gravity did the rest, as she felt herself leave the ground. And with that, in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the abyss below, leaving a trail of tears behind.

**That's the end of the first special chapters. Hope you guys enjoyed and it cleared some doubts. Next chapter won't come for a long time, as we will need to wait for a certain character to make his appearance. Thank you guys for reading, and have a nice day.**


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